The Pascoe Vale home of photographic artist Lilli Waters and her husband Jake Cole, a musician, is full of character and creative energy.  Here, amongst a jungle of luscious indoor plants and a seriously impressive collection of op-shop treasure, Lilli’s haunting photographic artworks adorn the walls, alongside artworks and handcrafted objects by creative family and friends. Lilli also has a home studio here, whilst Jake’s ever-expanding guitar and amp collection slowly commands more floorspace!

‘The deal was when we moved in, that I got the second bedroom as my studio, and poor Jake got the linen cupboard for his giant collection of guitar pedals’ Lilli explains. ‘He loves that cupboard, it’s like his man den, or in his case, man cupboard’.

The pair previously lived in nearby Brunswick West, and were initially a little nervous about venturing into a new suburb. ‘We looked at so many houses in the area, and this one was the only one we loved’ recalls Lilli. ‘I remember after a weekend of house inspections, feeling so depressed at the falling apart shacks we had seen, we sent an email to the real estate on a Sunday basically begging for them to accept us, and they did!’. The pair wasted no time in making their new surroundings feel like home, establishing a veggie garden, and decorating with a varied mix of furniture, textiles and art.

‘You will probably be able to tell that I am quite the collector, and a bit of an op-shop nut’ Lilli confesses. ‘I’ve been collecting old stuff for about 15 years now, which is strange, because my parents were both op-shop home reno addicts and I used to hate op shops when I was a kid, I’d sit in the Kingswood bored out of my brain, but I guess it washed off!’

Lilli and Jake are also big collectors of local artwork, and have amassed a huge collection of paintings and photographs by talented family and friends. Amongst these are artworks by Lilli’s sister Camille Moir Smith of Carpenter’s Daughter, her mother Mali Moir’s botanical paintings, as well as paintings and prints by Bobby Clarke, Sarah Hendy & Lisa Sorgini to name a few. Alongside these much loved pieces are a few restored artworks too, including a sad poppy painting that was torn and left abandoned in a secondhand hand shop, but which Lilli rescued and had restored. ‘It’s as good as new!’ Lilli says! ‘I love finding old things and giving them life again… it reminds me of how something abandoned and broken can always be fixed and loved again.’

Lilli and Jake love coming home to their house, and feel it is a a space which really nurtures both of their creative spirits. ‘I’m very much drawn to the organic feel of this house’ Lilli muses. ‘It has such a warm feeling, and makes you feel safe and at home as soon as you walk in the door’.